Costa Rican bananas will now be labeled with a seal denoting their origin after a three-year process, according to local business website El Fincancierocr.com.

The National Banana Corporation will mark the fruit as from Costa Rica, which it hopes will add value and differentiate their product from that of other nations, said Jorge Sauma, general manager of the corporation, according to the website.

The group hopes the seal will convey the idea that the bananas are cultivated in a socially responsible and ethical manner, Sauma added, the website said.

“We are the first export country with this indication in Central America and the second in Latin America,” Sauma is quoted as saying.

The designation will help market Costa Rican bananas in the European Union, where up to 40% of consumers are willing to pay up to 10% more for products with their origins identified, according to Anabel González, minister of Foreign Trade, the website said.